International round-up: Balogun on scoresheet in USA World Cup warm-up

The FIFA World Cup is almost upon us and qualified nations are now putting the finishing touches on their preparations. Several nations were in action over the weekend, with many Ligue 1 McDonald's and Ligue 2 BKT players involved. We take a look at some of the key action.

USA 3-2 Senegal

It will be a special tournament for the USMNT, given that the USA are one of the three host countries for this summer's tournament. They built up for the tournament with a friendly against Senegal on Sunday.

Several Ligue 1 McDonald's players were involved and one in particular had a crucial impact on the result of the friendly. For Senegal, there were many players who played in Ligue 1 McDonald's last season, including Mory Diaw (Le Havre), Mamadou Sarr (formerly of Strasbourg), Krépin Diatta (Monaco), Lamine Camara (Monaco), Moussa Niakhaté (Lyon), Moustapha Mbow (Paris FC), and Bamba Dieng (Lorient) all involved, either from the start or from off the bench.

A FINE FINISH FROM FOLARIN!#USMNT x @VW pic.twitter.com/VxtzBaGTVW
— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) May 31, 2026

However, they fell two goals behind within the first 20 minutes thanks to goals from Serginio Dest and Christian Pulisic, only for a Sadio Mane brace to level the tie just after half-time.

Folarin Balogun (Monaco) enjoyed an excellent campaign for the Principality club, despite their collective troubles, and he continued his fine form here, coming off the bench and netting the winner. Speaking before heading off, Balogun said that he was "eager" and "ready" to compete on home soil this summer.

Brazil 6-2 Panama

Monaco's Brazilian contingent won't be heading for the World Cup, with Vanderson and Caio Henrique suffering untimely injuries. However, Endrick will take part in the tournament. He joined Lyon on loan from Real Madrid, looking to force his way into Carlo Ancelotti's plans. He succeeded in doing so. He didn't start but did come off the bench in a 6-2 win over Panama.

Brazil took the lead early on through Vinicius Junior, and despite a Matheus Cunha goal drawing Panama level, goals from Casemiro, Rayan, Lucas Paquetá, Igor Thiago, and Danilo ensured that it was a comfortable win for Brazil.

Poland 0-2 Ukraine

In Europe, there was a win for Ukraine over Poland. Roman Yaremchuk, who spent the second half of last season on loan at OL, opened the scoring before Andriy Yarmolenko doubled the advantage.

Naturally, Ilia Zabarnyi was absent, given his presence in PSG's Champions League final win over Arsenal on Saturday. Rennes' Sébastien Szymanski was on the losing side on the day.

Switzerland 4-1 Jordan

There was another Rennes forward in action on Sunday. Breel Embolo played and netted the opener in Switzerland's 4-1 win over Jordan. Yvon Mvogo (Lorient) and Denis Zakaria also started for Murat Yakin's side. For Jordan, Embolo's team-mate at Roazhon Park, Moussa Al-Taamari, started and registered the assist for Jordan's only goal, scored by Oden Fakhoury.

Japan 1-0 Iceland

Japan are considered one of the dark horses for this summer's World Cup. Unfortunately, they will have to do without Monaco's Takumi Minamino, who failed to recover from his ACL injury in time. However, he has still travelled with his teammates for the tournament.

They prepared for this summer's tournament with a 1-0 win over Iceland, secured late on thanks to a goal from Koki Ogawa. Keito Nakamura, who plays his football for Reims in Ligue 2 BKT, started for Japan, whilst Le Havre's Ayumu Seko came off the bench in the slender win.

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